Luftwaffe Emblems 1939-1945 [9780955426834]
Date Added: Friday 19. October, 2012
Among those who study the RAF of WW II, there tends to be a corresponding interest in the opposition. There are the more obvious aspects, of course, like the characteristics of the enemy's aeroplanes and the ways in which they were employed, but there are more esoteric issues that can also fascinate. One of these is Luftwaffe heraldry. Unlike the RAF, which, from the mid-1930s imposed a very rigid system (a stylised role-related badge frame enclosing the squadron's motif, the suitability of which had to have been formally endorsed by the College of Heralds), the Luftwaffe adopted a far more casual approach, but it still served to identify an aeroplane as belonging to a particular unit.
Policy within the wartime RAF was even more restrictive, confining the identification of a unit to its allocated code letters. Nevertheless, it was sometimes difficult to suppress the atavistic desire to display something more colourful, more individual. This could be seen, for instance, in No 26 Sqd's exploitation of the (pre1942) broad central white stripe of the tricolour on the fins of its Tomahawks to display its gazelle's head motif; similarly, No 601 Sqd used the same space to sport its winged sword on Hurricanes and Airacobras.
In marked contrast to British conservatism, the Germans gave full rein to the expression of unit pride and, as the author, puts it 'Almost anything served as a source of inspiration for the unit artists.' Such emblems ranged from the heraldic arms of a town to a cartoon figure, like Mickey Mouse, taking in a variety of characters from folk tales, death's heads, lightening bolts and so on, along the way. A little surprisingly, however, and in marked contrast to the trend among the equally testosterone-fuelled young aviators of other air forces, there were very few instances of bare naked ladies. Some of these emblems were relatively permanent, others could change, for instance,' when a new CO was appointed. The picture is further complicated by the Luftwaffe's three-tier Geschwader, Gruppe, Staffel structure which often resulted in an aeroplane wearing more than one emblem.
Since this system was so flexible and informal there was little (if any) attempt to document these markings at the time. That led post-war historians to embark on, what amounted to, a treasure hunt, to seek out photographic evidence of these emblems and to identify the units concerned and the relevant dates. The pioneer in this field was Karl Ries whose findings were published between 1963 and 1972 in his four-volume Markierungen und Tarnanstriche der Luftwaffe im 2 Weltkrieg. The next major advance was Luftwaffe Emblems 1939-1945 by Barry Ketley and Mark Rolfe which appeared in 1998.
In the book under review here, a slightly less than A4-sized, 190 page softback printed on high grade paper, Ketley has brought the story up to date. It features more than 1,000 emblems, about 150 more than in the previous edition, provides new insights and corrects previous errors. It embraces units of all kind, from the mainstream day- and night-fighter, bomber and ground attack outfits via the less familiar reconnaissance, maritime and transport formations, to training schools and relatively obscure courier units. All of the badges are rendered in colour and many are supported by well-captioned photographs, some of these also being in colour, illustrating the emblem as applied to a particular airframe.
This is, of course, a somewhat arcane subject but for those with an interest in the Luftwaffe it represents the state of the art and, as such, I would rate this book as an essential addition to the library of a true enthusiast - and, considering the high production quality, it is a bargain. There are many aviation softbacks out there that are half the size, twice the price and offer far less colour. CGJ
Royal Air Force Historical Society – Journal 53
Policy within the wartime RAF was even more restrictive, confining the identification of a unit to its allocated code letters. Nevertheless, it was sometimes difficult to suppress the atavistic desire to display something more colourful, more individual. This could be seen, for instance, in No 26 Sqd's exploitation of the (pre1942) broad central white stripe of the tricolour on the fins of its Tomahawks to display its gazelle's head motif; similarly, No 601 Sqd used the same space to sport its winged sword on Hurricanes and Airacobras.
In marked contrast to British conservatism, the Germans gave full rein to the expression of unit pride and, as the author, puts it 'Almost anything served as a source of inspiration for the unit artists.' Such emblems ranged from the heraldic arms of a town to a cartoon figure, like Mickey Mouse, taking in a variety of characters from folk tales, death's heads, lightening bolts and so on, along the way. A little surprisingly, however, and in marked contrast to the trend among the equally testosterone-fuelled young aviators of other air forces, there were very few instances of bare naked ladies. Some of these emblems were relatively permanent, others could change, for instance,' when a new CO was appointed. The picture is further complicated by the Luftwaffe's three-tier Geschwader, Gruppe, Staffel structure which often resulted in an aeroplane wearing more than one emblem.
Since this system was so flexible and informal there was little (if any) attempt to document these markings at the time. That led post-war historians to embark on, what amounted to, a treasure hunt, to seek out photographic evidence of these emblems and to identify the units concerned and the relevant dates. The pioneer in this field was Karl Ries whose findings were published between 1963 and 1972 in his four-volume Markierungen und Tarnanstriche der Luftwaffe im 2 Weltkrieg. The next major advance was Luftwaffe Emblems 1939-1945 by Barry Ketley and Mark Rolfe which appeared in 1998.
In the book under review here, a slightly less than A4-sized, 190 page softback printed on high grade paper, Ketley has brought the story up to date. It features more than 1,000 emblems, about 150 more than in the previous edition, provides new insights and corrects previous errors. It embraces units of all kind, from the mainstream day- and night-fighter, bomber and ground attack outfits via the less familiar reconnaissance, maritime and transport formations, to training schools and relatively obscure courier units. All of the badges are rendered in colour and many are supported by well-captioned photographs, some of these also being in colour, illustrating the emblem as applied to a particular airframe.
This is, of course, a somewhat arcane subject but for those with an interest in the Luftwaffe it represents the state of the art and, as such, I would rate this book as an essential addition to the library of a true enthusiast - and, considering the high production quality, it is a bargain. There are many aviation softbacks out there that are half the size, twice the price and offer far less colour. CGJ
Royal Air Force Historical Society – Journal 53
Rating: 
[5 of 5 Stars!]
[5 of 5 Stars!]
